A Phase Space and Its Use in Monte Carlo Simulations of Radiation Beams

[Gruxg]

In the field of medical physics, specifically in monte carlo simulation of radiation beams produced by electron accelerators, people call ‘phase space’ to a file that contains the data of a large number of particles when they traverse a reference surface in the machine (usually a plane), i.e position, direction, energy, etc of each particle when traversing that plane. I am trying to see the similarity with the concept of phase space in classical mechanics but I cannot see a clear equivalence. Is it used with this meaning in other fields too, or is it just a very specific jargon? Is it an abuse of language?

 

[Gruxg]

I answer myself. Now I see that such a file represents something similar to a point of the phase space of a system composed by many particles.